Once Upon A Dream
by LostInTheDreams
Summary: Written After DDD but before KH3. Where does a dream go when a dreamer is dreaming? Roxas finds himself lost halfway between what feels real and what feels false, unsure where his place is in the word but knowing, no matter how much he wants, it has to be Sora. Sora is real while Roxas is...


**Once Upon A Dream**

...

Roxas woke up.

Or at least, Roxas felt he had woken up. Ever since he had merged his life with Sora so that Sora could have his own life back, it was as if he were asleep. Whatever was going on the world was lost to him except in faint echos if they made it the long way around Sora's heart and deep enough to reach him. What he got was mostly glimmers of echos, not even loud enough for him to understand.

Now he was standing, staring around at the too real world around him that he knew couldn't possibly be there, since it never was. He'd been to this world before and he had no plans on ever coming back. It would be impossible for Sora to make it back to what he could only consider his own world, since there would be no reason or way to return.

Looking down at himself, Roxas found he once more wore his robe, something else Sora would have no reason to wear.

"I hope Sora didn't die while I wasn't looking," he spoke to no one as he glanced around, looking up as well since there had been several times not doing so had been a bad idea. Memories of a fight with Riku also briefly ran through his mind. While he didn't hate the guy, he didn't like him, and he was glad that he wasn't there when he searched the skies.

"Where do dreams go when a dreamer is dreaming?"

Roxas spun, automatically reaching for a keyblade, the only weapon he had ever known, surprised a bit when one appeared in his hand. His eyes went from the gleaming metal to the person who now stood in front of him.

Only it couldn't be. Looking down, Roxas made sure he was all there before looking back at his own image in front of him. He had almost felt the essence of the person, knew he wasn't him, knew in some fundamental way that he was facing a stranger who for some reason shared his face.

"Ventus." The other boy put a hand to his chest, his eyes looking glassy and no fear in them with a weapon now brandished in front of him. The other boy looked up. "Were you looking for something?"

"Not really." Roxas didn't let his guard down or look away again. "Ventus you say. I've never heard of you."

"Mmm." The other boy closed his eyes a little too long, something close to sleep playing at them. His body shimmered a second, losing itself to the very air before reappearing. "I'm not as awake as you are, though really, I'm asleep, so that shouldn't matter. You should watch out though. Someone is here that shouldn't be. Something is wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

But there was no way to question his look-a-like as the other boy vanished in the air in front of him as if he'd been a ghost.

"Now I know I'm dreaming. That, or Sora got hit so hard it's affecting me." It took a few more seconds of being alone before Roxas dropped whatever force he was using to have keyblade in his hands, watching the weapon disappear as it always did. For the first time he wondered where it went when it wasn't in his hand.

"At least that proves I'm dreaming. And now… I'm talking to myself, literally." He sighed, going to the front steps of the tower and sitting down. No one should be inside and, if anyone was, he didn't want to see them again – at least, not most of them.

It felt like time went by but it was hard to tell. There was no sky in this world, there never had been. The world had been built with towers reaching for the heavens and nothing in them, blackness blotting out any stars that could possibly be there. Were there stars? He'd never seen any. He'd never had reason to wonder these things before either. Why he was doing so now he could only attribute to being with Sora.

So were these thoughts and feelings really his? Who knew. Who could know. Roxas just wanted to go back to sleep. At least there he didn't have to remember that he was essentially dead and all his friends were gone. What kind of life was that anyway, even if he had it back? There was nothing there to reach for.

"Poor forgotten little outcast. You can't even call yourself the trash can that is Sora. You're nothing made from the leftover remains of what once was. You're less than trash. You're the trash of trash."

This time Roxas didn't bother being startled. He had heard soft footsteps from behind him, coming from the towers entrance. The voice was also one that rang a few too many bells, though for some reason there were odd undertones that he never remembered hearing before.

"What do you want with me now? Going to follow me and watch me even in my dreams?"

"No, dear boy. You're very much useless to me. You're useless to everyone, you see. It's why you're here. You're nothing but a fleeting dream now."

"Yeah, well, whatever." It wasn't as if Roxas could argue that fact. He'd been told since the day he was born he was nobody and, as of right now, he was no better than he was that day. If anything, he had hurt a lot less back then. It made him more of a person now, but didn't give him any more of a life. Now he knew vividly what was missing.

"Roxas. You always intrigued me, you know. I didn't know you came from Sora, at first. When I found you lost in the darkness, I had thought you were Ventus's Nobody. After all, you look remarkably like him, just like every Nobody looks like who they were when they were a Somebody."

"Ventus?" Now that name he had never heard before, and one that was presented to him twice in the span of what could only be hours. "Who?"

"Ventus. The boy with the keyblade. It took me a while, but you were the key to understanding everything. There should have been no keyblade masters left, no one besides Mickey, and I knew that fool would never pass on his talent. Meaning that a wielder had either marked a child, like I had seen in Riku many years before – or there was the heart of keyblade wielder already hiding somewhere, hoping not to be found. You were a blessing, Roxas. I didn't think any part of Ventus still remained yet here it was, in a child I had assumed had no greater power than that of any other average child. Ventus, on the other hand, had been _my_ student, and I was able to find where Sora's power was coming from."

"Wait." Roxas shook his head, turning to the robed figure behind him. The hood was up but he knew a fellow member when he heard them. "Ventus, a keyblade wielder…"

"Is here, in Sora's heart, just like you are. Only he was powerful. He had purpose in my plans. He ultimately made them fail but he was one I would never simply let go of. When I saw you I knew I had to have you, had to have whatever part of him still remained since it was clear it could only be fragments. Sora hardly was possessed, and what I had left of the boy could hardly be enough to do more than simply give him the power he never should have had."

Roxas knew, a long time ago, that there were a lot of people in Sora's heart. He had just never thought there was literally anyone else besides himself who was now taking up residence in it as their own person. Considering how little he could do, it would be hard for someone who barely knew they were a person to have any kind of sway on Sora. "I see."

"In the end though, Sora is nothing but a boy who has power that he shouldn't. He holds hearts of true warriors who can't hold up their own. And you, you little Nobody, are even less than what I first thought you were. You're nothing but the Nobody of some empty fragments of forgotten hearts that the world no longer cares about. You don't even look like Sora. Likely you took very little of him with you. You were simple the switch to light the room instead of the bulb. It's almost funny how worthless you really are. Now Ventus on the other hand…"

"Just shut up and go away if this is all you're going to say. You're not real anyway."

"I'm not? I'm far more real than you." The hooded figure sat and threw his hood back. Roxas narrowed his eyes, staring at a face he never knew. It clearly held features of Xehanort, but it wasn't the person he had come to know as his boss. "I'm simply here in passing. I'm not a part of this dream of Sora's, like you are. Nothing more than a dream." The figured laughed quietly, staring off at the long row of dark buildings with lights on that held no people. "If it weren't for you though, I suppose this place wouldn't be here. I have to thank you for that. For giving me a place to lead Sora to his death."

It was Roxas's turn to laugh, though it came out more like a snort. "Oh, really? What's the point of killing someone if this is all some sort of dream, like you said? It's not as if it would really kill him."

"Wouldn't it? What if you could never wake from a dream. You've had first hand experience with that, haven't you?" The Xehanort that wasn't Xemnas grinned at him before disappearing with a few last parting words. "You know where to find me if you want to fight."

Roxas stood, going over to the place where the smoke vanished and stepping on it, just because he wanted to. It felt good in some way. He was tired of everyone degrading him like that. He was tired of being nobody. He wasn't anymore. He was Roxas. And, even if he was inside Sora, so were a lot… of people. He wasn't just a memory.

Feeling angry at everyone and no one to take it out on, Roxas leaned against the building in the far corner. There were no shadows here but at least the light wasn't as harsh. His anger gave way to despair quickly enough.

There was going to be another big battle. He doubted he had the strength to take on xenhort himself. Sora did though. Sora was always so good at doing all the things he couldn't.

Putting up the hood, because it was the smarter thing to do if there were more dark things walking around in Sora's dreams, Roxas went scouting. There wasn't much else he could do in the situation, and going off to fight Xemnas alone would just be foolish.

One his way back of checking out the northern region, he heard footsteps behind him. He waited, the voice once again stating who it was – though there were very few people who would made as much noise when they moved as Sora.

It was strange, but not as strange as seeing a mirrored reflection of himself in Ventus. It made him smile a little at the fact that the boy in front of him looked so different. It made him feel a little bit more like himself.

"Am I dreaming?"

Roxas shook his head, though really, Sora was. He wasn't dreaming him up though. That was a hard thing to explain and one that he didn't think needed words, since Sora should at least know where he was. It was strange, somehow being in your own dreams.

"Come on, say something."

What was there to say? Roxas was standing there, facing him, only because he was dreaming. There was no place left for him except here, and that sucked. "This could have been the other way around, but it really has to be you."

"What do you mean?"

"There are so many hearts," Roxas spoke softly, putting a hand to his chest and closing his eyes, "that are connected to yours. You're me, so you can feel what I felt."

Sora sighed, looking down as if he'd done something wrong. "No." He put his head back up, determination in his eyes. "Roxas, _you're_ you. We're not the same. I wanted to tell you that. That you deserve, just as much as I do, to be your own person."

Roxas was surprised that someone who really knew nothing about him would say something like that. It did make him smile, because he wished it were true. "Sora, see? That's why it has to be you." There was a part of him that Sora had never seen, that _did_ separate him, and he could easily give it up. If it would make Sora a little more whole, maybe it would help him with the upcoming fight. He hardly needed his dreams to be as divided as his heart was.

Taking a few steps closer, Roxas held out his hands, holding Sora's. He could feel nothing with the gloves on his hand, so maybe it was just his imagination when he thought that Sora's hand were warm.

He gave up his memories, almost as easily as he had given up his body once he'd realized that it simply wasn't his to have. The more reason Sora had to fight, the more he thought that they really _were_ friends in whatever strange reality it would have to be to be friends with yourself, the better off he would be.

Whatever was left of him faded. It was hard, apparently, to stay in Sora's dream when so many other things were now occupying it.

The black world faded into light once again, showing that he was on the outskirts of the same world, though far away from where he had just been. He sighed, sitting down and trying to let himself fade as easily as he had before. Sora had his memories, so no one would be forgotten. There really was no point in staying anywhere any longer.

"Roxas!"

Roxas jumped, hands on his shoulders shaking him. He looked up, his hood falling off though he had no memory of putting it back on before his strange transportation.

It was a shock to see the green eyes of his old friend, who was half standing behind him and shaking him as if trying to wake him. Was this all part of the dream too? If so, this was turning out to be a rather nice dream, and he'd have to thank Sora for that. It was nice to see him again.

"What the hell man? What was that?"

"What was…. What?" Roxas looked around, trying to figure out what he meant. Beside him was the dark figure of some beast as it quickly faded away – along with the fire that had been running along its body.

"Don't just let them… Don't let them eat you. At least fight back. I know you can."

Roxas had no idea what he was talking about. He didn't realize anything was trying to _eat _him, though he wasn't terribly worried that something had been. "Sorry, I didn't notice." The words came out a bit flatter than he had intended and the world around him seemed to sway a little.

"What the heck? Are you falling asleep here? How is that even possible. Stay awake." He felt Axel shake him a bit more but Roxas was done staying awake. He closed his eyes. If something wanted to eat him, let it. At least he'd had a few good moments before it did.

Something burned and Roxas had to open his eyes, batting at the hem of his coat sleeve to put out the fire that was there. He turned angry blue eyes onto his aggressor, standing up because he had enough of this and enough of being awake and enough of all of this not being real that he couldn't take it anymore. A keyblade appeared back in his hand. If the dream wouldn't leave him alone, as good as it was, he didn't want to live in another world of fake friends and fake reality.

"Woah, wait. What's gotten into you?" Axel took a few steps back, his weapons appearing in his hands. "It's been a long time, I know, but you haven't forgotten me already, have you? I thought we could have a pleasant talk or something. The king's already going to be pretty ticked off that I didn't follow him."

"King?" Was King Mickey here? If there was a large scale fight going one in the dreamworld, that shouldn't be too surprising. The fact that Axel was saying he was working with him though-

Roxas let go of the keyblade, letting it fade away, as he laughed.

"Oh, come on! As if I'd keep working with that other jerk! Stop laughing! It's not funny!"

It took Roxas a while but he wasn't one for laughing much and he did stop. He was smiling when he met Axel's eyes – as annoyed as they were. "So are you part of this dream and have I finally gone crazy?"

"You wish. I'm just here temporarily. Seems Xemnas is in here, messing with something big, and we're here to put a stop to it." Axel looked him up and down. "Though I don't think you're up to any fighting. Who knows what would happen if you got hurt here. This is how you're living, right? I'm just dreaming, I think. It's all really confusing. I don't think I'd die if something happened here. Maybe. You know, I really didn't ask enough questions."

Roxas laughed a little more, holding his hand over his mouth. "it's okay. If you're looking for Xemnas, you know where to find him. Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah, no sweat. It's _you_ I'm worried about. You don't look so good." He tipped his head and, off in the corner, Roxas could see a lot of dark figures and glowing eyes, though there was no way they could be the heartless. "Nightmares. Seems they're attracted to you. Wonder_ why_ that could be."

"Maybe I've been having a few too many recently." Roxas lowered his hand to his side, watching the horizon. "Anyway, Sora and I being in the same place would be a bad thing. Even in dreams I'm not sure how well that would work out. You should go, Axel. I'll be fine."

"You didn't look very fine. Lea, by the way. My names Lea." The redhead smirked, pointing at himself.

It was if having a different name was some sort of accomplishment and Roxas did his best to keep a straight face for that, smiling and shaking his head. "Okay, Axel. I said I'd be fine."

"Gah!" Axel pouted and Roxas couldn't take it. The smile was very real as he watched his friend stomp around, the creatures hiding around the corners backing off.

It took him that time to realize why Axel was calling himself Lea. He had seen his own name, briefly, and how he had gotten it. It must have been the same for the others. "I suppose you should call me Sora now then."

"Hell no!" Axel put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back. "I was born Lea, so I'm Lea. You were born Roxas, so you're still Roxas."

Was he? What kind of reasoning was that? Roxas was only born by that name because of Sora, just like Axel was. The logic there didn't make sense.

He must have seen the look of confusion because Axel went on. "You're not like us. You're you. You were always you. It's weird, I know, and I don't get it, but you're you. You were never a part of Sora. I don't know why. I don't want to know why. I don't' really care to know why. You're Roxas, you're you, and I'm late. You're nothing like Sora. Trust me, I spent some time with the guy. I like you way better, so stay away from those nightmares, okay?"

Roxas smiled slightly. There was something about being around Axel that made it hard not to smile, even if he didn't understand why. "Okay."

"Sora is a good guy, and I'm going to help him." Axel took a few steps, weapons back out, before touching his head. "But _you_ are my friend, not him, got it memorized? You'll always be my friend."

Roxas shrugged, though he was smiling. It was nice to have a friend, even nicer to know that one was still alive out there, living their life like they should have. Axel had been chasing him down for a long time and, for some reason that made him smile more. He knew he'd never stop.

"Got it."


End file.
